In a session comprising Rana Mitter, Xiaolu Guo, Oscar Guardiola-Rivera, Sir Meghnad Desai and Dipankar Gupta, and moderated by Sunil Khilanani, the moot point was: Who would rule the worldIJ Mitter, the author of China’s War with Japan, 1937-45, believed that future belonged to China.
He made his point on the basis: China’s growing economic might, its geostrategic location, and the way it is making its strategic presence in Africa and South America. Xiaolu Guo, who is soon going to come with her book, I am China, asked what really should be the parameters for a superpower: Economic might or cultural reachIJ On this point, she said that China could, in the near future, catch up with the Americans, but the US would remain the cultural superpower.
“Chinese learn English as their second language, but how many Americans learn Chinese,” she asked. Guardiola-Rivera, a latin American author, argued that South America holds the template for the future with its emphasis on protecting nature and ecosystem. Sir Meghnad, predictably, said that sun would continue to rise in the West. But the best came from Prof Dipankar Gupta, who questioned the very idea of India ruling the world. “The question should be how we rule ourselves. Remember from 1950s till the 90s, two superpowers tried to rule the world and see what a mess they created… We don’t want to rule the world that way,” he said. For the JNU professor, India should emulate countries like Norway and Sweden, and not the US and China.